Our NG water heater is leaking and is going to get replaced. Fortunately, it is under warranty, which is a first. When we have the new one installed, I was interested in changing the plastic drain valve to something that is easier to use–seems like our water is prone to scaling, so I would like to drain it more often to remove the stuff that ends up on the bottom of the tank. I thought I read here about doing this, but I was not sure what to replace the plastic valve with–brass nipple and ball valve? Any other tricks to keeping a water heater clean?
Thanks,
Aaron
Replies
You should be able to unscrew the existing drain valve and install a new boiler drain. Those cheap plastic ones that come on water heaters are a pain, and seem to break when you need to use them.
Just unscrew the existing, use a galvanized nipple of the same length & diameter (or sweat up a copper one if you prefer) and install a decent valve on that.
Pete Duffy, Handyman